Electrical welding apparatus.



W. E. ANDREWS.

ELECTRICAL WELDING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 9. 1914.

1,141,517. v Patented June 1, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l- ATZTEIIRNEYI W. E. ANDREWS.

ELECTRICAL WELDING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 9, 1914. 1,141,517, Patented June 1, 1915.

3 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

INVENTUR WITNEESES: arlglflwa/ BY ATTURNEY hldldili'lo UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM E. ANDREWS, OF BELLAIRE, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO W. A.STELLERS, F BELLAIBE, OHIO.

ELECTRICAL WELDING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 1, 1915.

Application filed November 9, 1914. Serial No. 870,988.

2 '0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM E. ANDREWS, a citizen of the United Statesof America, and residentot Bellaire, county of Belmont, and State of()hio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in ElectricalWelding Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates broadly to electric welding apparatus, and moreparticularly to a machine tor welding annular seams or joints oicylindrical or tubular sheet metal articles.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a machine wherebycircular bottoms or ends be electrically welded to the n llowcylindrical sheet metal bodies of pots, kettles, cans and other articlesof like nature, which machine is adapted to produce the meeting edgesare so c sely uni ed as to he practically imperecially after theapplication enamel coating. ohiect is to provide machine aractermentioned which is adapted section with articles of widely tornis andsizes.

l nd other ohjects in view, the irvention resides in th' reatures ofconstrucwhich will hereinafter he 1, reference heing had to theacconipanv drawings, forming a part or h s specification, in whichigureis a side elevation the invenn; is a front elevation o i l is alongitudinal section; ig. i is a nt l a *"on on the line Fig 2;

Fi 6 is a similar section on line 3; and Fig. 'i is an enlarged detailsection of the guide plate and certain associated parts.

Referring said drawings, in which like designating charactersdistinguish like parts throughout the several views-l indicates a leaseor support upon which is mounted a casing 2 having disposed therein atransformer 3 through which electric current is supplied for welding, aswill hereinafter be explained. Mounted in a stationar position upon thetop of the casing 2 is t e base of a hollow pedestal 4 havin a forwardlydirected arm 5 provided wit a vertically disposed shaft-bearing 6 in itsend. Sue

collar 22 which is insider section on the line 5,;

mounting said arm 5 and preferably formed integral with the latter is anupright body 7 in which is formed a bearing 7 for a horizontallydisposed shaft 8 and which carries thereon a forwardly directed arm 9having in its end a shaft-bearing 10 which is in vertical alinement withsaid shaft-bearing 6. A vertically-disposed shaft 11 is journaled 1nsaid bearings 6 and 10 and carries thereon at a suitable point a hevelgear 12 in mesh with a smaller bevel gear 13 carried on the adjacent endof the shaft 8. A rearwardly and upwardly inclined arm 14 formed on saidpedestal t carries on its end a second bearing 15 for said shaft 8,which latter carries thereon at a suitable point a stepped pulley 16. Asis obvious, power is transmitted through said shaft 8 lordriving saidshaft ll. v

The vertical shal -t ll has fixed on its lower end a shallow holder 17designed to support therein an nnularly flanged hlanlr 18 adapted to conLute the bottom of the vessel losing formed, the hody of such vesselheing mounted within a suitable supporting casing, as 20, which ismounted upon an upright sleeve 21, heing su ported hv a threaded upon seSaid sleeve has its lower end held by and is vertically slidahe androtatable in a guide plate 23 whic is supported hv a talole 2 mounted onthe front wall of the casing 2. The hodv said sleeve is exteriorlythreaded and the collar 22 is adiust ably mounted thereon in supportingrela tion to said casing 20. A jam-nut 66 is adapted for seating againstthe under face of said collar 22 for holding the latter in adiustedposition. Said sleeve has a fixed collar 25 which normally rests uponthe guide plate 23, sustaining the weight of said sleeve and attachedparts,

The guide plate 23 is pivoted to the table at a point, as 26, locatedlaterally with respect to the aXial-line'of the sleeve 21 when thelatter occupies operative position, and said plate is adapted to heswung outward on its pivot 26 over the table for carrying sleeve.

the casing 20 from'beneath the holder 17 to i tit cally movable throughsaid table 24 is a pivctally disposed rod 29 of a material readilyconductive of electric current, said rod being insulated from saidsleeve 28 and having a head or collar 30 at its upper end which isadapted to rest upon an internal annular shoulder or seat 31 provided-atthe upper end of the sleeve "28. The sleeve 28 has an external annularflange 32 at its upper end which normally rests on a seat, provided insaid table, below the level of the top surface of the latter, supportingthe head 30 of the rod 29 below said surface. Disposed within therotatable sleeve 21 and insulated from the latter is a verticalnonrotatable rod 33 which is also conductive of electric current andwhich is adapted to be contacted at its lower end by the rod 29 when thelatter is elevated. A collar 34 is adjustably mounted on the rod 29below the sleeve 28 and has pivotally connected thereto a yoke 35carried on the end of an arm 36 which is fixed upon a shaft 37 journaledin web-like supports 38 formed on the under side of the table. Saidshaft has fixed on one end thereof one end of an arm 39 the opposite endof which is pivotally connected to the upper end of an upright link 40Whose lower end is pivotally connected to a lever or foot treadle 41whichis pivoted at a suitable point, as upon the base 1. Mounted uponthe upper end of the rod 33 is a laterally directed arm 42 which carriesupon 1ts outer end a wheel electrode 43 adapted to engage the innersurface of the article and which constitutes one of the welding Ielectrodes employed in the welding operation.

Mounted on the front face of the pedestal 4 beneath the arm 5 thereofand vertically adjustable with respect to said pedestal is one end of ahorizontally disposed bar 44 on which is horizontally adjustable aforwardly extending arm 45, said arm preferably having dove-tailconnection with said bar, as is clearly shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 5.Pivotally mounted upon the top of the free end of said arm 45 is one endof a handlever 46, said end of said lever being disposed within abox-like casting 47 rigidly carried by said arm. Pivotally connected atone end to said casting is a bar 48 which has a wheel electrode 49mounted thereon at a suitable point for being thrust, by inward movementof said bar 48, into opposing relation to electrode 43 for welding thebottom 18 to the body 19 of the ware disposed within the supportingcasing 20.

Current is conducted from the trans former 3 to the electrode 49 througha vertically disposed rod 50 connected at one end to said transformer,thence through an arm 51 which is vertically slidable on said rod 50,thence through a horizontally disposed rod 52 which is slidable throughthe front end of said arm 51 and which has its opposite ends mounted onthe bar 44, thence through a collar 53 and connected rod 54, said collarbeing slidably mounted on said rod 52 and said rod 54 being directedoutward through the hollow interior of arm 45 and connected to the pivotpin 55 on which hand lever 46 is mounted, thence through said pivot 55,casting 47, and finally through bar 48 in which said electrode ismounted. The electric circuit through the opposite electrode 43 isclosed only when the rod 29 and externally threaded sleeve 21 areelevated by the depression of the treadle 41,

this action serving not only to elevate said members for carrying thebody of the ware and said electrode to proper positions, but also tocarry the alined current conducting rods 29 and 33 into contact. Currentis conducted from the transformer to the rod 29 through a flexiblecopper conductor, as 56, leading from said transformer, and an attachedcollar 57 in which said rod 29 is adjustably held.

The table 24 is vertically adjustable on the casing 2. For elevating andlowering the table, an adjusting screw 58 is provided, said screw havingits upper end swiveled in a bearing 59 provided on the'under side ofsaid table and being threaded through the hub of a hand wheel 60 whichis mounted on a stationary arm or bracket 61 carried by the base 1. Anadjusting screw 62 is provided by means of which the arm 45 may beadjusted on the bar 44, said screw having swiveled connection with abracket 63 fixed on said bar and having its inner end threaded through abracket 64 formed on said arm. A hand wheel 65 is provided on the outerend of said screw, as shown.

In practice, the upper edge of the body 19 of the article to be actedupon projects slightly above the edge of the casing 20, and the flangeof the bottom ,blank 18 projects downward below the edge of the holder17. When the casing is elevated in the manner hereinbefore described,the projecting edge of the body of the article is elevated within theembrace of the bottom flange. Coincident with the elevation of saidbody, contact is made between the rods 29 and 33. The wheel electrode 43at the same time lies in engagement with the interior of that portion ofthe body 19 which is overlapped by the flange of bottom blank 18. Then,as is obvious, when the hand-lever 46 is moved laterally the electrode49 is thereby thrust into engagement with said flange, closing thecircuit from the transformer, and a welding current passes between saidelectrodes. The shaft 8 having been set in rotation just prior tothrustingthe electrode 49 into engagement with the ware, it will be seenthat said ware is in rotation'during the performance of the weldingoperation. It will be noted that the casing 20, when elevated isseparated from the bottom holder 17 a sufficient distance to permit ofthe entrance of the edge of said electrode 49 between said members.

An adjusting screw 67 is provided for adjusting the elevation of the bar44 and the associated parts carried thereby, said screw being threadedthrough the hub of a handwheel 68 mounted in a fixed position on thecasing 2 and having its upper end disposed in swiveled supportingrelation to said bar.

The rod 33 carrying the fixed arm 42 upon which is mounted wheelelectrode 48 is prevented from rotating by any appropriate means, as bya laterally disposed stud 69 carried adjacent to its lower end, saidstud being disposed within a vertical groove or slideway 70 provided inthe guide plate 28, as shown in Fig. 7. The described means forpreventing rotation of said rod 23 is merely illustrative and is notclaimed specifically as part of the invention.

What I claim is 1. In a machine for electrically welding ends on tubularbodies, a rotatable support for an end blank, a support for the tubularbody, means for moving one of said supports toward the other tointroduce said body and said blank into proper relative engagingpositions, an electrode disposed within said body, an electrode disposedwithout said body and adapted for movement into cooperative relation tothe first mentioned electrode, means for rotating the body and the endblank between said electrodes, and a transformer circuit for saidelectrodes, normally disconnected portions of said circuit beingconnected when said body and said blank assume engaging positions.

2. In a machine for electrically welding ends on tubular bodies, arotatable support for an end blank, a support for the tubular body,means for laterally moving the body support into and out of registrywith the end support, means for shifting said body support endwisetoward the end support to introduce the body into proper position inengagement with the end blank, a pair of electrodes disposed incooperative relation,

' and means for rotating the body and end blank between said electrodes.

3. In a machine for electrically welding bottoms on tubular bodies, arotatable support for a flanged bottom blank, a support for the tubularbody, means for moving the body support laterally into and out ofregistry with said bottom support, means for shifting one of saidsupports endwise to introduce. the end of said body within the embraceof the flange of said bottom for forming a joint, and electrodesoperating against the internal and external surface at said joint.

4:. In a machine for electrically welding bottoms on tubular bodies, arotatable support for a flanged bottom blank, a support for the tubularbody, means for moving the body support laterally into and out of reg Vistry with said bottom support, means for shifting one of said supportsendwise to introduce the end of said body within the embrace of theflange of said bottom for forming a joint, and electrodes operatingagainst the internal and external'surface at said joint, one of saidelectrodes being movable to and from operative position.

5. In a machine for electrically welding bottoms on tubular bodies, arotatable support'for a flanged bottom blank, a support for the tubularbody, means for moving the body support laterally into and out ofregistry with said bottom support, means for shifting one of saidsupports endwise to introduce the end of said body within the embrace ofthe flange of said bottom for forming a joint, and electrodes operatingagainst the internal and external surface at said joint, and means forrotating the support for the bottom blank.

6. In a machine for electrically welding bottoms on tubular bodies, arotatable support for a flanged bottom blank, a support for the tubularbody, means for moving the body support laterally into and out ofregistry with said bottom support, means for shifting one of saidsupports endwise to introduce the end of said body within the embrace ofthe flange of said bottom for forming a joint, wheel electrodes disposedwithin and without said body and adapted to operate against the internaland external surfaces of said joint, and means for moving the outerelectrode to and from operative position.

7. In a machine for electrically welding bottoms on tubular bodies, arotatable support for a flanged bottom blank, a support for the tubularbody, means for moving the body support laterally into and out ofregistry with said bottom support, means for shifting one of saidsupports endwise to in troduce the end of said body within the embraceof the flange of said bottom for forming a joint, Wheel electrodesdisposed within and without said body and adapted to operate against theinternal and external surfaces of said joint, means for moving the outerelectrode to and from operative position, a transformer, and meansconducting current from said transformer to said electrodes, thetransformer circuit being closed by contact of the outer electrode withthe joint.

8. In a machine for electrically welding bottoms on tubular bodies, atransformer, a table; an apertured guide-plate mounted upon said tableand shiftable to and from a centered position with respect to thelatter, a body support disposed over and movable with said guide, avertical rod for conducting electric current having its upper enddisposed centrally within said support and hav ond rod having electricalconnection with.

said transformer and operable through said table into contact with thefirst-mentioned rod when the guide plate occupies centered position,said second rod normally occupying a position with its lower end belowthe level of the table, a bottom support located over and injuxtaposition to said body support when the latter occupies centeredposition, means for elevating said body support to an operative positionwherein portions of the bottom and body overlap, a second wheelelectrode adapted to cooperate with the firstmentioned electrode forclosing an electric circuit through said overlapped portions, and meansfor rotating one of said supports. 9. In a machine for electricallywelding bottoms on tubular bodies, a transformer, a table, an aperturedguide-plate mounted upon said table and shiftable to and from a centeredposition with respect to the latter, a body support disposed over andmovable with said guide, a vertical rod for conduct ing electric currenthaving its upper end disposed centrally within said support and havingits lower end received in the aperture of said guide-plate above thelevel of the table, a wheel electrode carried by said rod, a second rodhaving electrical connection with said transformer and operable throughsaid table into contact with the first-mentioned rod when the guideplate occupies centered position, said second rod normally occupying aposition with its upper end below the level of the table, a bottomsupport located over and in juxtaposition to said body support when thelatter occupies centered position, means for elevating said body supportto an operative position wherein portions of the bottom and bodyoverlap, a second wheel electrode adapted to cooperate with thefirstmentioned electrode for closing an electric circuit through saidoverlapped portions, and gearing whereby rotation is imparted to thebottom support.

In testimony whereof, ll affix my signature in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

v iLLrai r n. ANDREWS.

